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Indian Embassy In Iran Cancels High-Profile Event To Mark Gandhi Jayanti After Local Indians Protest

The embassy had planned to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary on a cremation ground.
Image used for representation purposes only.
AFP via Getty Images
Image used for representation purposes only.

The Indian Embassy in Tehran was forced to cancel an event to mark Gandhi Jayanti after people of Indian-origin strongly objected to it being held on a cremation ground, The Hindu reported.

The invite for the event, which was to be held on 4 October on the Indian Community Cremation Ground, said that light refreshments would be served after the function. This was seen as a "display of insensitivity" by some, the report said.

The ground is maintained by a Gurudwara Committee with the approval of Tehran-based Guru Nanak Charitable Trust.

An elderly community leader quoted by The Hindu said, "Never have we seen the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi being celebrated in a cremation ground or a graveyard... Cremation ground stands for sadness but the Embassy wanted to offer us refreshments there."

Read the full report from The Hinduhere.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.